Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women—yet it's still treated like a man’s disease. In this powerful conversation, Dr. Martha Gulati, a cardiologist and pioneer in women’s cardiovascular health, exposes the systemic gaps that leave women underdiagnosed, undertreated, and often unheard. Together, we unpack the critical differences in how heart disease presents in women, why standard diagnostic tools fall short, and what every woman needs to know about risk factors like pregnancy complications, hormone therapy, statin use, and even environmental exposures. Dr. Gulati also reveals the truth behind hormone therapy myths, explains how soft plaque really forms, and why fitness should be considered frontline prevention.
You’ll learn:
- Why women’s heart symptoms are often mistaken for anxiety
- What tests to ask for to asses your risk of heart disease
- How statins, hormone therapy, and fitness interact with risk
- What the new “Prevent" risk score includes—and why it matters
- Why women get more benefits from exercise than men
- How pollution, stress, and pregnancy complications shape long-term risk
Whether you’re in your 20s or postmenopausal, this episode will empower you to take charge of your heart health, ask better questions, and get the care you deserve.
Who is Dr. Martha Gulati?
Dr. Martha Gulati is a professor of cardiology at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai, where she serves as Director of Prevention and Associate Director of the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center. She is the immediate past president of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology and previously served as the inaugural Chief of Cardiology at the University of Arizona. A leading voice in women’s heart health, Dr. Gulati chaired the first national chest pain guidelines and is the author of the best-selling book Saving Women’s Hearts.
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Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro and framing the crisis of heart disease in women
01:27 – Why women’s heart attack symptoms are often missed
04:28 – Why breast cancer awareness eclipsed heart disease awareness
07:01 – The legacy of excluding women from clinical trials
10:35 – The Women's Health Initiative and its impact on heart disease mortality
20:26 – The 3 key blood markers to assess heart disease risk in women
26:29 – Hormone replacement therapy: What went wrong
30:05 – Mythbusting: HRT does not replace statins
41:02 – Soft plaque vs. calcified plaque: what really matters
51:59 – Statins and brain health: separating fact from fiction
56:01 – INOCA: When women have symptoms without artery blockages
1:11:47 – Why “220 minus age” is inaccurate for women’s heart rate training
1:33:11 – Men’s vs. women’s hearts: anatomical and physiological differences
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